I was a student, and then worked with students, for enough years that each new quarter or semester marked a new schedule, and therefore an opportunity for thinking about how I was going to structure my time.

Talking with a colleague at the Sunday Central Library write-in, I realized that National Novel Writing Month is an important part of my practice as a writer because it lets me take wild chances and establish a new routine for my writing. That 30-day challenge corresponds pretty closely to the 21-28 days it takes to form a new habit.

What do I expect to get out of the November novel writing challenge?

1. A novel manuscript and/or a start on some large-scale projects, both fiction and nonfiction.

2. New and better habits with blogging. Back in 2011, I took the challenge of blogging every day for 30 days. The result was a surprisingly useful real-time record of the ups and downs of writing a novel.

3. Bonding with my old writing friends and making new ones.

4. A chance to examine my own habits as a writer, and to form new ones.